DETROIT — It's been painted as a pay-to-play scheme by federal prosecutors.

Businesses hoping to do work with Detroit under Kwame Kilpatrick would be excluded, unless
they included Bobby Ferguson and his affiliate companies, Ferguson
Enterprises and Xcel Construction.

One of Ferguson's invoices — for work and material he never provided, according to testimony by Thomas Hardiman Sr., an ex-employee for city contractor Lakeshore Services Inc. — came with the invoicing company's name misspelled.

Hardiman said there was no prior warning or explanation for why the invoice came in on a Johnson Consulting invoice. There was no involvement by the company.

The bill contained several line items for phantom work and services never provided — $25,000 for air equipment, $40,000 for management services, $55,000 for for material disposal and others — and Johnson Consulting Services was misspelled, reading "Johnson Consulant" in the header.

Hardiman worked for Lakeshore Services Inc. in 2004, an environmental
engineering company that sought work from Detroit's Water and Sewerage
Department.

He said it became clear what Lakeshore must do if
they desired contracts — involve Ferguson — but the
something-for-nothing relationship wore on him.

His boss, Avinash Rachmale, the owner of Lakeshore, begrudgingly instructed Hardiman to concede to the demands for multiple contracts in order to keep the work flowing.

While working on a subsequent water and sewer job with Xcel Construction, another company affiliated with Ferguson, Hardiman said Calvin Hall, Xcel's vice president, came to collect from him on multiple occasions.

Hardiman didn't disguise his contempt for the setup, he said.

"You're a parasite," Hardiman testified he told Hall more than once. "He was requesting payment for services I didn't feel were deserved."

Hardiman was called to
testify on the 22nd day of testimony in the public corruption trial for
ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick; Kilpatrick's father, Bernard
Kilpatrick; Kilpatrick's longtime friend and a city contractor, Bobby
Ferguson; and former Water and Sewerage Director Victor Mercado.

When the trial proceeds Monday at 9 a.m. Hardiman will likely remain on the stand. His former boss, Avinash Rachmale, the owner of Lakeshore, is expected to follow on the witness stand.